Slide feed mechanism



Dec. 22, 1953 E, GRIMM 2,663,566

SLIDE FEED MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 9. 1951 Dec. 22, 1953 E, GRlMM 2,663,566

SLIDE FEED MECHANISM Filed Feb. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f 2,5754' ff jm INVENTORQ 27a PWM/7 BY Wm Patented Dec. 22, 19573 SLIDE FEED MECHANISM Eric Grimm, East Orange, N. J., assigner to U. S.

Tool Company, Inc., Ampere, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 9, 1951, Serial No. 210,238

Claims. l

The invention herein disclosed relates to apparatus for feeding strip stock into punching and forming machines.

Special objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the stock gripping means and theA brake means controlling the movements of the slide block.

Further special objects of the invention are to arrange the support for the guide rods on which the slide block operates in a manner to provide better clear space for operation of that block.

Other desirable objects and the novel features through which all purposes of the invention are attained are set forth or will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates a present commercial embodiment of the invention. Structure, however, may be modified and changed, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter dened and claimed.

Fig, l in the drawings is a broken side elevation of one of the new slide feeds;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View as on substantially the plane of line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a broken horizontal sectional View across the slide block and guide rods as on substantially the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view across the slide block and brakes, as on substantially the plane of line 4 4 of Fig. l. f

In the present illustration, strip stock represented at 1 is being fed into a machine for operating on the same, at 8, by a feed block 9 sliding on parallel spaced guide rods I0.

These guide rods are shown supported by an overhead bracket II attached to or forming part of the operating machine.

This overhead arrangement leaves the space at the sides of and below the slide block 9 clear for other mechanism or portions of the machine.

Reciprocation of the slide block is effected by a crank-driven or otherwise operated oscillating lever I2 to which there is pivotally connected a push-pull link I3 pivoted at I4 to a plunger I5 longitudinally slidable in a guide I6, Fig. 2, in the block.

Movement of plunger I5 is limited in the feed block by spaced annular shoulders II, I8, at the outer end of the guide I6 between which the annular shoulder I9 on the plunger is located.

To the inner end of the sliding plunger there is pivotally connected, at 2U, a short link 2I which in turnis pivotally connected at 22 with the meeting ends of the toggle links 23, 24.

The first of these links is pivotally connected at 25 with a stud 26 shouldered at its inner end 2'I to bear against the inner end of a bushing 28 screwed in the side of the feed block, and the other toggle link 24, is pivotally connected at 29 with the stock gripping plunger 39 carried by guide bushing 3| secured by said screw 32 in the opposite side of the feed block.

The screw bushing 28 is shown as countersunk in its outer end to provide an internal annular shoulder at 33 for the annular screw flange 34 on the outer end of the stud 26 so that with in and out turning adjustment of screw bushing 28 the stud may be shifted inward or outward to effect adjustment of the stock gripping plunger 3B with respect to the fixed abutment wall 35 with which said plunger cooperates to grip the stock.

Turning of the screw bushing 28 to trip the feed at any time may be effected by means of a hand lever 36 having a split portion adjustably clamped at 31 over said screw bushing, said lever having a knob 38 for shifting the same and a spring projected detent, as indicated at'39 in Fig. 3, to engage in angularly separatedretainer openings 4D, 4I, to keep the stock gripping toggle mechanism in yfunctioning or non-functioning condition.

A stop pin 42 is shown in'Fig. 1 positioned to` limit the swing `of the throw-olf handle in oppopresent invention by flexible elastic brake bandsr 44, Figs. 3 and 4, surrounding the rods and holding annular segments 45 of braking material in engagement about the rods.

Opposite ends of the brake bands are shown as extended angularly at 46, 47, about bolts 48 set in the block at opposite sides of the rods I0. The end extensions 4l are shown held by nuts 49 screwed on the inner end portions of the bolts and the other end extensions, 46, are shown caught over the sleeves 50, slidable over the outer end portions of the bolts and engaged by the tension springs 5I under adjustment of nuts 52.

By turning the bolts in their screw seats '53 in the block, the nuts 49 may be shifted to position the inner ends 4'I of the brake bands, and

away from said fixed abutment wall, parallel to said guide rods and in the direction of feed, toggle links disposed transversely of the line of feed and connected at their mid-point with the inner end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger, a reciprocating stock gripping plunger slidingly mounted in the block in line and connected with and actuated by one of said toggle links, an abutment for the other of said toggle links and means connected with the outer end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger for imparting both reciprocating stock feeding sliding movement to said block and stock gripping and releasing action to said toggle links and companion stops for limiting the sliding movement of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger in said block, and companion stops on said block and one of said toggle links for positively limiting the straightening movement of the toggle.

5. A slide feed of the character disclosed comprising in combination, parallel guide rods, a feed block sliding on said rods and having a xed stock gripping abutment wall, a toggle actuating and block sliding plunger having a limited reciprocating sliding movement in said block toward and away from said fixed abutment wall, parallel to said guide rods and in the direction of feed, toggle links disposed transversely of the line of feed and connected at their mid-point with the inner end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger, a reciprocating stock gripping plunger slidingly mounted in the block in line and connected with and actuated by one of said toggle links, an abutment for the other of said toggle links and means connected with the outer end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger for imparting both reciprocating stock feeding sliding movement to said block and stock gripping and releasing action to said toggle links and companion stops for limiting the sliding movement of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger in said block, said abutment for the one toggle link being a screw bushing adjustable in and out in the block in line with the toggle links, a stud connected with said toggle link and rotatably received in said adjustable screw bushing, a hand lever adjustably clamped on the outer end of said screw bushing and a spring pressed detentknob for retaining the hand lever and screw bushing in different positions of adjustment.

6. A slide feed of the character disclosed comprising in combination, parallel guide rods, a feed block sliding on said rods and having a fixed stock gripping abutment wall, a toggle actuating and block sliding plunger having a limited reciprocating sliding movement in said block toward and away from said xed abutment wall, parallel to said guide rods and in the direction of feed, toggle links disposed transversely of the line of feed and connected at their mid-point with the inner end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger, a reciprocating stock gripping plunger slidingly mounted in the block in line and connected with and actuated by one of said toggle links, an abutment for the other of said toggle links, means connected with the outer end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger for imparting both reciprocating stock feeding sliding movement to said block and stock gripping and releasing action to said toggle links and companion stops for limiting the sliding movement of said toggle actuating and blocksliding plunger in said block and contracting band brakes on said slide block in cooperative engagement with said rods.

7. A slide feed of the character disclosed comls ,y prising in combination, parall'f guide rods, a feed block sliding on said rods and having a fixed stock grippingabutment wall, a toggle actuating and block sliding plunger having .a limited reciprocating'sliding movement in said block toward and away from said i'lxed abutment wall, parallel to said guide rods and in the direction of feed, toggle links disposed transversely of the line of feed and connected at their mid-point with the inner end of said toggle actuatingv and block sliding plunger, a reciprocating stock gripping plunger slidingly mounted in the block in line and connected with and actuated by one of said toggle links, an abutment for the other of said toggle links, means connected with the outer end of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger for imparting both reciprocating stock feeding sliding movement to said block and stock gripping and releasing action to said toggle links and companion stops for limiting the sliding movement of said toggle actuating and block sliding plunger in said block and contracting band brakes on said slide block in cooperative engagement with said rods, said band brakes being located at one end of the block at opposite sides of said actuating plunger and said toggle links being disposed.

transversely at the opposite end of the block.

8. A slide feed comprising a feed block having" a cavity with longitudinal and transverse open-4 ings extending thereinto, an actuating plunger' having movement in said longitudinal passage, a1 stock gripping plunger in one of the transversel passages, a xed stock gripping abutment wall ona the block opposed to and in cooperative relation to said stock gripping plunger, an abutment member disposed in the other transverse passage, pivotally connected toggle levers pivotally connected at their free ends with said stock gripping plunger and abutment, respectively, and a connecting link between the inner end of the actuating plunger and the pivotal connection between the two toggle levers.

9. A slide feed comprising a feed block having a cavity with longitudinal and transverse openings extending thereinto, an actuating plunger having movement in said longitudinal passage, a stock gripping plunger in one of the transverse passages, a Xed stock gripping abutment wall on the block opposed to and in cooperative relation to said stock gripping plunger, an abutment member disposed in the other transverse passage, pivotally connected toggle levers pivotally connected at their free ends with said stock gripping plunger and abutment, respectively, a connecting link between the inner end of the actuating plunger and the pivotal connection between the two toggle levers and companion stop abutments on the inner Wall of said cavity and on one of said toggle levers.

10. A slide feed comprising guide rods, a slide block operating on said rods, stock gripping means carried by said block, rod encircling contracting band brakes carried by and travelling with said slide block, bolts screwed on the block at the sides and transversely of the guide rods, nuts on said bolts securing the inner ends of the contracting band brakes and adapted by relative adjustment of the bolts and nuts to set the inner end of the band brakes toward or away from the guide rods, sleeves on the outer end portions of the bolts and engaging the outer ends of the contracting band brakes, springs surrounding the outer end portions of the bolts and tensioning said 

